C10 Dennis / Plaxton Buses

It may be that the buses are simply knackered, or it may be that some of the drivers are changing gear manually.

Last time I drove a bus the Darts were the step entrance version and, although they have automatic gear boxes it's quite possible to go through the gears manually - doing so means you can get a little bit more out of it before allowing it to change up to the next gear; that could well come across as over revving perhaps?

All that being said, Phil did mention to me fairly recently that newer buses do seem to suffer from poorly matched gear boxes & engines, and that no matter how hard the driver tries, some buses just won't settle down in any one gear.

This seems to be an issue with Dennis Dart buses, it is particularly noteworthy on a lot of the older Marshall bodied ones (X/Y-regs) we have, though much less so the newer ones (02-regs) or Caetano (02-reg) ones.

I'm not sure what type of gearbox they have but i'm thinking it must be this and the fine settings that are the common factor rather than the bodywork manufacturer.

It is very difficult indeed to give a smooth ride when the bus is constantly changing up and down gear unable to decide which it wants to be in when proceeding at a constant rate of speed, the bus kicks with each change. Usually the only answer is to either go a bit slower or a bit faster (if that's safe).

The other week I had a very annoying vehicle which was speed limited to 29mph and which also was set to gear change (3rd to 4th) at 28/29mph, so was constantly "gear kicking" for the best part of the day. I booked it off, noted the number and will not be driving that one again unless it's sorted !!

Lothian buses seem to keep a modern fleet. I guess it helps keep the maintenance bill down.

The bus I singled out was definitely over-revving between gears; I caught it again about a hour ago and at one point there was a definite lurch as the gearbox picked a gear and dropped into it at high revs! I've noticed the hard downshifts occasionally, mostly when the driver has to brake HARD. Oddly enough I was on a 188 yesterday with a horrible downshift - really threw the passengers around!

The engine noise I mentioned is quite distinctive. It's not just a case of it being louder due to hard acceleration, although that does contribute. It's a really rough sound, as if the top half of the engine isn't getting enough oil and the exhaust isn't quite attached! But it quitens down once the bus gets to a certain speed. It's almost as if it's swiching cams but I suspect that's far too complicted an explanation, especially for a bus diesel engine!

I'm currently on an older C10 bus; P504RYM which as well as having a nicer decor (imo! - green grab rails instead of yellow, grey panelling) seems to be performing perfectly. No lurches, hard downshifts, relatively quiet engine. So something went wrong with the newer ones! I don't recall being on a 02/52 plate C10 so can't comment there.

Shame, I really prefer the green/grey colour scheme, but if there's good reason for the yellow then so be it.

Today, Y847TGH is exhibiting the two-tone engine sound I referred to. If I had thought about it, I would've sat in the back to get a sound bite. Perhaps next time. Would be nice to know why.

Yellow!

I don't know about rail vehicles, but road vehicles don't have to be yellow - look, for example here - and Firstbus use that sickly turquoise thing.

I don't think it's so much compulsory as a Stagecoach preference.

But I got the idea that there was to be something in law about it when buses are finally converted to all being SLF. I think it's another 2 years for single deckers, and 2017 before all deckers are converted. (And I reckon our 1989 Volvo deckers will still be running then, outliving the 2007 Enviro deckers!)

You mean this photo

Double bonus, I was due one this afternoon, and it broke down this morning, so I got a short Dart instead. Fantastic!

Does beg a question..... Why are the same buses repeatedly off the road for one thing or another? Those two (33848/33849) are forever getting towed back, as are the Leyland deckers (14992-9).... Has nobody clicked that it costs more to get the recovery team out on a daily basis for at least four of these buses, the two 33's and 14997 plus either 14996 or 14999 than they can possibly take in fares. Stagecoach Lincoln haven't got a recovery vehicle, so it goes out to private, costing I don't know how much every tow back.

Of course, I'm just a driver, why should my point count, especially when the depot is constantly paying for these breakdowns and having a direct impact on my payrise (or lack of)

about £500 per time in our area...........................

Any bus breakdown here also grinds everything to a halt. The contracted recovery team can take anything up to FIVE hours to get out to us, I know from freezing experience! (They specialise in lorry recovery, so are always busy somewhere in this vast and rural County!)

As for the buses in question, I haven't (still) driven one since this thread was created, so I can't add further to it.

Thanks to prjb for popping in, that clears that one up, although as you are the person in the know, is it true to say that yellow is one of the last colours blind people can see (I appreciate what you say about the contrast) or is that a Company bigging themselves up for having the colour?

Nearly forgot, 33848 is apparently almost terminally dead, so knowing Lincoln depot, it'll be months before it's back. This pleases me greatly as I don't have to drive the shed.

The UK standard was always to do that - m3group.fotopic.net/p54557518.html was an example. However, in recent years, the health & safety and insurance restrictions have lead to an increase in specialised contractors. (Duggy, pictured, was apparently known for being pushed through traffic lights by the bus it was towing).

It doesn't have to be like that (or it didn't). Years ago I had a Bristol FLF (decker) with a burnt out clutch and they hauled it out of Stroud centre with a LAND ROVER!! Not fast but very effective.

Mind you depots don't even have one of these now - just a small Ford van with a bit of coolant and a bit of oil in it........

It is not very wide, it is more to the way the photo was taken (more contemporary example from Krasnodar is here).


It sometimes has to tow a 20 odd ton bus over the slippery road, so additional power and grip is much appreciated .